THROGGS NECK, NY – Entering Sunday's doubleheader at Reinhart Baseball Field, the Maritime College baseball team and Merchant Marine were essentially tied for first place in the Skyline Conference.  And, after splitting the twinbill, the Privateers and Mariners are still in a virtual deadlock.  Merchant Marine (14-7, 7-1 Skyline) took the opener by an 11-8 count before Maritime (14-11, 11-1 Skyline) tied a school record with eight home runs in Game 2, a 16-13 victory.

There were 18 combined homers between the teams in the twinbill, starting with Luke Kruer's two-run shot in the first inning of Game 1.  Chris Picarella (Levittown, NY) hit a grand slam in the bottom of the first, though, giving the Privateers a 4-2 lead.  The Mariners put up a four-spot of their own in the third to go ahead 6-4, then added another run in the fourth.

After the Privateers pulled within 7-5 in the bottom of the fourth, Ryan Melton crushed a two-run homer for Merchant Marine in the fifth.  A Harry Leipold (Thornwood, NY) homer in the bottom of the fifth made it 9-6, but the Mariners got back-to-back homers from Kruer and Christian Gamez in the top of the sixth.  The Privateers responded with another home run in the bottom of the sixth, this time a two-run blast from Dylan Payano (Flushing, NY) that trimmed Merchant Marine's lead to 11-8.

The Mariners loaded the bases with two down in the top of the seventh, but left the runners stranded when Francis Montalvo (College Point, NY) struck out Kruer to end the inning.  Maritime then brought the tying run to the plate after putting runners on first and second with one out.  Merchant Marine closer Caden Pierce induced a popup and a fly ball, though, to wrap up the Mariners' 11-8 win.

Payano reached base all four times, going 2-for-2 with a homer, two walks, two runs scored and two RBIs.  He also stole two bases.  Randy Ventura (Syosset, NY) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases, while Leipold finished with two hits, including a homer, and Picarella tallied four RBIs on his grand slam.  Joe Sorge (Montgomery, NY) (2-1) started on the mound and took the loss.  He allowed nine runs (six earned) on 10 hits, struck out five and walked two over 4.2 innings.  Andrew Heiderstadt (Farmingdale, NY) pitched two innings of relief before Montalvo came on to get the final out.

For the Mariners, Kruer was 4-for-5 with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored.  Gamez, Landon Troutt, Thomas Byrne and Davin Fulton each added two hits, while every Merchant Marine starter scored a run.  Tucker Bearden (4-1) was credited with the win after yielding five runs on four hits over four innings.  He struck out five and walked five.  Eddie Lippert and Travis Campbell both threw an inning before Pierce came on to notch his third save of the year.

In Game 2, the Privateers took an early 2-0 lead on first-inning homers by Payano and Owen Weber (Kings Park, NY).  After the Mariners tied it at 2-2, Maritime got two-run homers from Alex Bardi (Wantagh, NY) and Leipold in the fourth to go back in front, 6-2.  The Privateers then put up a six-spot in the fourth, with Leipold delivering a grand slam to center for the big blow.  It was his second straight home run and third of the day.  However, Merchant Marine responded with an eight-run top of the fifth to trimmed the Maritime advantage to 12-10.

Weber made it 14-10 with his second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth, then David Granucci's (Medford, NY) long ball in the sixth put the Privateers in front 15-10.  Kruer hit a two-run homer (his second of the game and fourth of the day) in the top of the seventh, but Joey Goodman (Merrick, NY) responded with Maritime's record-tying eighth homer in the bottom half of the inning.  The Mariners plated one run in the ninth before Frank Santeramo (Garden City, NY) closed out the 16-13 win.

Half of the Privateers' 16 hits in Game 2 were home runs, with six different Maritime players going deep.  Leipold had two homers and six RBIs, while Weber crushed two homers, drove in three runs and crossed the plate three times.  Payano also homered and scored three runs.  Bardi and Granucci, meanwhile, each belted a two-run shot.

Sean Mylan (Lynbrook, NY) made the start on the mound and lasted 4.2 innings.  He surrendered 10 runs on 13 hits, struck out seven and walked two.  Jackson Tulchoski (Massapequa, NY) (2-1) was credited with the win after yielding two runs on five hits and two walks in two innings.  Santeramo came in to get the final out of the seventh and ended up going 2.1 innings.  He allowed one run on two hits and tallied three strikeouts to record his first career save.

Five different Merchant Marine players finished with three hits in the contest.  Drew Davis was 3-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and three RBIs.  Landon Troutt went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs, while Braden Vazquez collected three hits and crossed the plate twice.  In addition to crushing two home runs and scoring three times, Kruer (2-1) started on the mound.  He took the loss after giving up 12 runs on eight hits with five walks and a strikeout in 3.2 innings.

On Tuesday, the Privateers visit FDU-Florham (14-15) at 3:30 p.m.  It will be Maritime's final non-conference road game of the season.